Sugar cooperatives in the state might soon turn into powerhouses for rural areas if their recent proposal is accepted by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC).

Gujarat State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (GFCSF) has offered to generate power through bagasse, sugarcane by-product, if GERC agrees on tariff rate of Rs 5 per unit.

Mansi Patel, chairman of the GFCSF, said, “Sugar mills conventionally generate their own requirement of power and steam by using bagasse, the sugarcane residue, during the season of about 180 to 200 days.”

He added: “GERC has considered the capital cost of developing each unit to about Rs 4 crore per mega watt (MW) of power. This cost was valid till four to five years back. Currently, the cost of the project varies from Rs 5 to Rs 5.5 crore per mega watt. Besides this, the evacuation cost will also vary enormously.

It is also necessary to modernise sugar plant to reduce the in-house requirement of steam and power which requires extras expenditure of Rs 1 to 1.5 crore.”

Patel said that GFCSF is willing to cater villages by setting up units at the sugar cooperatives. Currently, there are 17 cooperatives in south Gujarat and two in Saurashtra.

While, GERC has considered Rs 775 per tonne, GFCSF is demanding an increase of Rs 155 to Rs 2,200 per tonne of baggase depending on its price in the market. According to GFCSF, the fuel price proposed by GERC, Rs 3 per unit, is not viable.

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